Since the Vietnamese believe that the very first visitor a family receives in the year determines their fortune for the entire year, a person of good temper, morality and success will be the lucky sign for the host family and be invited first into the house. Tiền vô như nước (many money flows in like water): used informally Vạn sự như ý (may myriad things go according to your will)Ĭung hỉ phát tài (congratulations and be prosperous) Traditionally, everyone is one year older on Tet, so children would wish their grandparents health and longevity.Īn khang thịnh vượng (security, good health, and prosperity) Sống lâu trăm tuổi (long life of 100 years): used by children for elders. People also wish each other prosperity and luck. The traditional greetings are “ Chúc Mừng Năm Mới ” (Happy New Year) and “ Cung Chúc Tân Xuân ” (gracious wishes of the new spring). Children wear their new clothes, give their elders the traditional Tet greetings before receiving the lucky money from them in exchange. The first day of Tet is reserved for the nuclear family. One of very popular traditional food in Tet is Mut (candied fruits) which is not served in the meals but a snack to welcome guests visiting house and always kept in beautiful boxes and placed at the table in the living room. Family members often take turns to keep watch on the fire overnight, telling each other stories about Tet of past years. Preparations for these foods are quite extensive. In the days leading up to Tet, each family cooks special holiday foods such as bánh chưng and bánh dầy. Their departure is marked by a modest ceremony where the family offers sacrifices for them to use on their journey. Traditionally, the three kitchen guardians for each house ( Ông Táo ) (Kitchen God) return to heaven on the 23rd day of the twelfth month by lunar calendar to give his annual report on family members to the Jade Emperor. During Tet the altar is thoroughly cleaned and new offerings are placed there. Vietnamese families have a tray of five different fruits on their altar called “ Ngũ Quả ” (five fruits type). Vietnamese families usually have a family altar, to pay respect to their ancestors. As the shops will be closed during Tet, everyone is busy buying food, clothes, and decorations for their house. In the days leading up to Tet, the streets and markets are full of people. Parents buy new clothes for their children so that the children can wear them when Tet arrives. People try to pay off their debts in advance so that they can be debt-free on Tet. The general atmosphere leading up to Tet is in the bustle of shopping, decorating the home, cooking traditional Tet food and waiting for relatives to return home. This period begins one or two weeks before the actual celebration. All of these customs are to celebrate Tet in Vietnam. Tet in the three Vietnamese regions can be divided into three periods, known as Tất Niên (Before New Year’s Eve), Giao Thừa (New Year’s Eve), and Tân Niên (the New Year), representing the preparation before Tet, the eve of Tet, and the days of and following Tet, respectively. Although Tet is a national holiday among all Vietnamese, each region and religion has its own customs. Some return to worship at the family altar or visit the graves of their ancestors in their homeland. Vietnamese people usually return to their families during Tet. People consider what they do on the dawn of Tet will determine their fate for the whole year, hence people always smile and behave as nice as they can in the hope for a better year. Like other Asian countries, Vietnamese believe that the color of red and yellow will bring good fortune, which may explain why these colors can be seen everywhere in Lunar New Year. They consider Tet to be the first day of spring and the festival is often called Hội xuân (spring festival). During Tet, Vietnamese visits their relatives and temples, forgetting the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Tet is also an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. There are a lot of customs practiced during Tet such as visiting a person’s house on the first day of the new year ( xông nhà ), ancestral worship, wishing New Year’s greetings, giving lucky money to children and elderly people and opening a shop. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tet by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning their house. Tet takes place from the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. The name Tet Nguyen Dan is Sino-Vietnamese for Feast of the very First Morning. It is the Vietnamese New Year marking the arrival of spring based on the Lunar calendar, a lunisolar calendar. Tet Nguyen Dan or Tet is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam.
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